What we learned from the final leaders' debate
There we have it, folks – we’ve made it to the end of the final leaders’ debate of the 2025 federal election campaign. Here were all the key takeaways, as Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton went head-to-head on television for the last time:
Anthony Albanese won the final leaders’ debate with 50% of the vote from a group of 60 undecided voters – 25% voted for Peter Dutton, and 25% remained undecided.
Dutton argued that welcome to country ceremonies are “overdone” when asked about the booing that occurred at Anzac Day dawn services.
Albanese said the ceremonies were a “matter of respect” and it was up to event organisers to decide whether or not they should take place.
Both leaders said the date of Australia Day should not change.
Albanese received an overwhelming win when it came to the cost of living at 65% of votes from the panel, while Dutton received 16% and 19% were undecided.
The PM talked up Labor’s tax cut, cheaper medicines policy, energy bill relief, cheaper childcare and free Tafe, and argued that what the Coalition is offering is “all temporary”.
Dutton argued the Coalition were the better economic managers and that it would “take us time to clean up Labor’s mess,” continually pointing to the Coalition’s fuel excise.
On housing, the PM was given 35% of the vote, Dutton 30% and 35% were undecided.
The opposition leader said the Australian housing dream “looks like a nightmare” for young people today, continuing to blame migration. Albanese said the housing crisis was decades in the making, and that Labor was focused on supply.
Dutton won over a majority of the undecided voters on defence at 43%, while Albanese got 35% and 20% were undecided.
The opposition leader said China was the biggest threat to security in Australia, while the PM said China “seeks to increase its influence in the region”.
In a quick-fire round, the leaders were quizzed on the price of a carton of a dozen eggs. Dutton said $4.20 and Albanese said $7 “if you can find them”. The answer was about $8 or $8.50.
Read more here:
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning, as the election campaign enters its final week. In the meantime, take care and enjoy your evening.
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Albanese declared winner of the debate
The winner of the debate has been revealed as Anthony Albanese on 50%, as decided by 60 undecided voters.
Peter Dutton picked up 25% of the vote, and 25% remained undecided.
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More results are coming through from the undecided voters, showing Peter Dutton with a clear majority on defence at 43%.
Anthony Albanese got 35% of the vote, while 20% were undecided.
On the “hot takes” at the end of the debate, Albanese won a majority 50%. Dutton got 14%, while 36% remained undecided.
Paterson: welcome to country ceremonies ‘tokenistic’
James Paterson has also weighed in on welcome to country ceremonies, after Peter Dutton’s comments that they had become “overdone”. Paterson said:
Most Australians are very respectful of our Indigenous heritage and culture and they value it. We have all been to events and conferences where every speaker does an acknowledgment of country and there are five acknowledgments and it becomes tokenistic. Australians want it to be meaningful and not excessive.
Katy Gallagher argued there was “a fair bit of aggro and interrupting when it came to that part of the debate” from Dutton.
I saw aggro and I saw someone, an opposition leader, under pressure who is prepared to interrupt and try to disrupt.
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The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, have joined the panel to weigh in on the debate and the results.
Gallagher said Anthony Albanese “nailed it” after being asked about his result on the cost of living.
I think certainly the response from those audience numbers show that people understand while doing it tough the government is trying and looking at ways to help them through these times.
Almost 50% of undecided voters side with Albanese on tax cuts
We’re back from another break with more results from the 60 undecided voters.
On tax cuts, Anthony Albanese received 49% of the votes, and Peter Dutton 21%; 30% remained undecided.
On Indigenous affairs, Dutton received 46% of the votes and Albanese received 27%; 27% were undecided.
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Undecided voters give Albanese a win on housing and cost of living
The undecided voters have weighed in on how they think the leaders performed on a matter of issues.
On the cost of living, it was a major win for Anthony Albanese at 65%; 16% voted with Peter Dutton, and 19% of voters remain undecided.
The PM got 35% on housing, and Dutton got 30%; 35% were left undecided.
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Leaders quizzed on price of eggs
Before we hear from the undecided voters, let’s just circle back to an earlier rapid-fire question the leaders were asked – about the price of eggs.
Peter Dutton answered that it would cost $4.20, while Anthony Albanese said the cost would be $7, “if you can find them”.
The actual price was shown to be about, or just more than, $8.
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The debate has now wrapped – and a studio audience of 60 undecided voters are gearing up to give their verdicts and decide a winner of the debate.
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Albanese’s final pitch: education key to country’s future
The prime minister is giving his closing remarks, saying he is “optimistic about Australia’s future”.
What gives me hope is the resilience, the courage, the optimism of the Australian people. We are the greatest country on the planet. We are driven by our people as well as of course the natural assets that we enjoy.
I want to back our people through skills and training. That’s why we’re investing in every school by giving a better and fairer schools funding. That is why we are investing in early childhood education. That is why we are investing in free Tafe, to give people the opportunity to be the best they can.
Anthony Albanese said that “if we get it right, the future is so bright for us because we live in the fastest-growing region of the world in human history and our people are our greatest asset.”
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Dutton’s final pitch: Coalition will provide good economic management in cost-of-living crisis
Questions have now wrapped, and the leaders are giving their closing statements – Peter Dutton is up first.
He echoed the sentiment of his opening remarks and said, “I don’t believe Australians can afford three more years of increased costs of everything.”
I want to make sure we can deliver support immediately through the 25 cent a litre cut in fuel tax, the $1,200 tax rebate and I want to make sure that we can transform our energy market, get more gas into the system, bring the wholesale price of gas down by 23%. If we do that, we can bring down the costs across the economy.
Dutton said that good economic management is “exactly what is required in our country right now”.
If we make the right decisions now, we can protect our generation and future generations and make our country and our communities safer.
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Peter Dutton was also played an audio clip of himself and asked about the Coalition’s backflip on its work from home policy. He said:
I’ve apologised for the decision that we took in relation to work from home … What the prime minister did, as he’s done with a number of other issues, is twisted and contorted it into something it wasn’t.
The point I made was that, yes, the prime minister’s scared, particularly women, and others into believing that we were doing something that we weren’t and I apologised for that.
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Albanese admits he changed his mind on stage-three tax cuts – and notes the Coalition voted for it
Anthony Albanese was played a clip of him saying “my word is my bond” and said “yes, I changed my mind” in relation to the stage-three tax cuts.
What I did is fronted up, I went along to the National Press Club and did not pretend we had not changed our position, and I went along and argued the case and guess what? The Coalition voted for it.
Peter Dutton was asked if his word is his bond? He replied, “Yes, it is.”
If you’re talking about the stage-three tax cuts, don’t forget … stage one and stage-two tax cuts were introduced by the Coalition government.
The PM shot back and said:
You voted for the change. Not only did we change our position, but it went through the parliament unanimously.
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Peter Dutton has been asked about comparisons between him and Trump, and whether he has tried to distance himself from the US president. He said:
I have not sought to be anybody other than myself.
The debate has returned from a short break, and the leaders are now being asked a series of rapid-fire questions.
They were shown images of their homes. The PM said “marriage” and the opposition leader answered “retirement home”.
They were also shown a photo of Elon Musk and asked what comes to mind. Anthony Albanese responded:
Telsa, and very rich man.
Peter Dutton responded:
Evil genius.
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Nuclear power policy ‘will get lots of votes’, Dutton says
If the Coalition’s nuclear policy is so good, why has Peter Dutton not visited any of the proposed nuclear reactor sites?
The opposition leader said he had been to “three communities” and answered:
I am proud of the fact we have taken the decision – and I have not taken it for political reasons because I think we will get lots of votes.
Will Australians see you at a nuclear power plant site in the next six days? Dutton again said, “we have been to three communities”.
The debate has now paused for a short break, after a bit more back-and-forth on the topic.
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Dutton happy to have nuclear power plant in his suburb
Moving to energy, Peter Dutton is touting the Coalition’s nuclear policy backed by gas, arguing it would reduce prices:
If we have a look around the world, the top 20 economies, Australia is the only one that has not signed up to nuclear power.
Anthony Albanese said that under the former government, 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations announced their closure.
We are way behind, nothing was happening in terms of the investment that was needed and with renewables, already there has been a projects approved to power 10m homes. We think the future is renewables backed by gas, backed by hydro, backed by batteries.
Dutton answered that he would be happy to have a nuclear power plant in his suburb.
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Which country poses the biggest threat to Australia’s security?
Peter Dutton referred to intelligence he received as defence minister and leader of the opposition, saying his biggest concern was China.
[Intelligence agencies] are worried about the conflict in our region, and what that will do to impact on our trade and what it will do to our own security settings and what we would need to do to respond to a cyber-attack on our country.
Asked if he is afraid of China, Anthony Albanese said he notes China “seeks to increase its influence in the region”.
China is the major power in the region which is seeking to increase its influence. But the relationship is complex as well because China is our major trading partner.
The PM was asked clearly what the biggest threat to Australia is, but deflected and responded:
I am the prime minister of a country and how you deal as prime minister is diplomatically and that is what we continue to do.
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Both leaders say Australia can trust Donald Trump
Moving to defence, the leaders have now been asked if Australia trust Donald Trump to “be our protector”?
Anthony Albanese answered that “yes”, Australia can trust the US to have Australia’s back on security.
When I went to the United States for the official visit, I met with over 100 congresspeople and senators across Democrats, Republicans – [there was] universal support for the relationship with Australia, and I think that gives us confidence. It is in the United States’ interest as well as Australia’s interest for the security relationship.
Peter Dutton answered that Australia can “trust whoever is in the Oval Office”.
And we respect the views of the American people and the views of the American people and the elected president
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Dutton says school curriculum teaching children to be ‘ashamed’ of being Australian
Both leaders were asked if the date of Australia Day should be changed, and both answered “No.”
Anthony Albanese said “we need to … look at how we can bring people together”.
Part of my experience [with] Australia Day is that there is acknowledgment of the fullness and richness of our 65,000 years of history, but also there is acknowledgment of what happened with settlement, celebrating be 26th of January when the first fleet arrived and the migrants who came to make Australia their home. We have three parts of that history and we should celebrate all of it.
Peter Dutton took aim at schools next, and said:
Frankly in our schools, we need to stop the teaching of some of the curriculum that says that our children should be ashamed of being Australian effectively. And we have made mistakes in our history, no question about that, but we cannot live with that shame forever, we need to accept that mistakes were made and need to make sure we celebrate our national day as most other countries [do]. We need to defend what we have in this country.
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Peter Dutton continued his answer, arguing that a welcome to country was “appropriate” for the opening of parliament “and other significant events of that nature”.
But I do think the most important thing we can do is provide tactical reconciliation and I think the nation was aghast when the prime minister … sought to divide us over the Voice.
Anthony Albanese was asked if he still believes in the voice, but he answered “it’s gone”.
We need to find different paths to affect reconciliation … All governments have not done well enough, that is the truth, the Labor party, the Liberal party have not done well enough.
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Welcome to country ceremonies a ‘matter of respect’: Albanese
Anthony Albanese has argued that welcome to country ceremonies are a “matter of respect” – but that it is up to the organisations hosting an event whether they have a welcome to country or not.
It is up to them and people will have different views and people are entitled to their views, but we have a great privilege from my perspective, of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth.
But does he think it is overdone? The PM replied:
It is up to people to determine whether they have a welcome to country or not, but from my perspective, for major events, it is of course a sign of respect.
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Dutton argues welcome to country ceremonies 'overdone'
Both leaders are being asked about the booing that occurred at Anzac Day ceremonies during welcome to country ceremonies.
Peter Dutton was asked if he would acknowledge traditional owners at his official events? Speaking on flags first, he answered:
I don’t believe [we are] the best country we can be if we’re asking people to identify under different flags. I want to unite our country. I want every Australian to be equal … You can have respect as I do for the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Islands flag but I want our country to be one and that is the best chance.
On welcome to country ceremonies, Dutton argued it was “overdone” and said:
It is respectful to do, but for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, I think other Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do, it divides the country, not dissimilar to what the prime ministers did with the voice.
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Albanese accuses Dutton of trying to ‘secure political advantage from grievance’
Peter Dutton has told the PM he “can’t stand here telling people they’re much better off after three years”.
If you had a good story to tell, prime minister, you wouldn’t be running a scare campaign. You’d be talking about your so-called achievements of the last three years … If you’re re-elected, the prices will keep going up.
Anthony Albanese said that Dutton had “identified a range of issues but you have no solutions, and you pretend that they’ve arisen in May 2022”.
Now, it’s just a fact that the inflation rate is 2.4%. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there doing it tough. Of course they are. But that’s why we’re undertaking these measures to look after people, not to go out there, talk Australia down, and to try to secure political advantage from grievance.
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Anthony Albanese is responding, arguing that Peter Dutton is not offering “structural change”.
He’s going to this election campaign saying that he will increase the income tax of all 14 million Australians, and the changes that he’s spoken about will disappear in 12 months’ time. That is the difference. They don’t have structural changes going through, such as the ones that we’ve implemented, that last – whether it’s cheaper medicines, whether it be the income tax cuts.
Mark Riley has just asked Peter Dutton:
You say you have an aspiration to index the tax rates to alleviate the problem with bracket creep. Yet at the same time you’re going to this election, as the prime minister just pointed out, promising the people you will repeal a tax cut. I don’t know of any leader who’s ever done that. Is that crazy brave or just crazy?
The opposition leader responded that the Coalition was “reducing that overall tax burden on the family but we’re providing that as an interim solution until we can fix up Labor’s mess.” He argued:
We’ve said you can have the Labor option, which is 70 cents a day in 15 months’ time, or a 25c a litre cut to fuel excise now. So $14 per tank, per week. That’s about $1,500 a year, $1,200 back for each taxpayer in an average income household. So $2400. You equate that, compared to the 70 cents a day, people are better off.
PM rules out negative gearing changes
Anthony Albanese again confirmed, not for the first time, that negative gearing changes were “off the table” under Labor.
But Peter Dutton continued to say he doesn’t believe the PM:
The prime minister said before the last election that there’d be no changes to superannuation, and the prime minister’s introduced a tax which taxes an unrealised capital gain.
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Peter Dutton, asked about the benefits of skilled migration, said that “of course” Australia needs skilled migrants. But he continued:
But it needs to be done in a balanced and measured way … If you bring in a million people over two years, over a five-year period, it will be about 2 million people, population bigger than the size of Adelaide …
The prime minister responded, saying migration rates had fallen by 31% in the past year.
After Covid, of course, there was going to be more people coming in short term. The government is addressing that by lowering migration at the same time as we’re building housing.
Anthony Albanese said 28,000 homes are under construction or in planning under Labor’s key housing program:
You’re having a lend to oppose all of those measures then say ‘Why haven’t the homes been built?’ The former government didn’t even have a housing minister for half the time they were in office.
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Dutton: Australian housing dream ‘looks like a nightmare’
Mark Riley asked each leader what the Australian dream looks like for an average Australian in the property market today?
Peter Dutton said it “looks like a nightmare” and blamed the matter on migration:
When you bring a million people in they want a house for their kids and their family, fair enough, but what we’ve seen is Australians being displaced from home ownership, and our young Australians now, saving harder than ever, paying more rent than ever. They’re locked out of the market.
Anthony Albanese, instead, argued the housing crisis “hasn’t happened over the last couple of years [but there has been] a decade or even more of neglect”. He pointed to a range of Labor’s measures and said:
We are concentrating on supply, not just demand, because we know that’s the key going forward.
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The prime minister said the Coalition’s fuel excise policy is “something that Scott Morrison did before the 2022 election and then it disappeared”.
It’s the same policy being put forward here.
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Anthony Albanese is arguing that the measures Peter Dutton is putting forward to address cost-of-living issues are “all temporary”.
They disappear in a year’s time. The difference between that and what we’re putting forward is that ours are permanent. Permanent tax cuts … We need permanent change that makes a real difference to the living standards of Australians.
Dutton said that “yes, it will take us time to clean up Labor’s mess,” but continued:
But in the interim, [there is that] immediate support – that 25c a litre cut in petrol that can be provided to help people with the bills that they’re facing now, and also the $1,200.
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What will each leader do from Sunday to make Australian’s lives easier?
Anthony Albanese responded first, saying the government had “already acted on cost of living, but we know there is more to do”.
That’s why we’ll deliver an increased tax cut – not just one, but two tax cuts in the next term. That’s why we’ll continue to support real wage growth … We’ve also got the plans for cheaper medicines … Energy bill relief. The cheaper childcare policy that has benefited families by $2,700.
Peter Dutton said he wanted to provide “immediate relief”, pointing to the Coalition’s fuel excise policy.
It will save about $14 every time you fill up your tank. That’s the immediate assistance. Secondly, $1,200 back by way of a tax rebate. That will help people deal with Labor’s cost-of-living crisis.
The opposition leader argued that Albanese offers “a Band-Aid on a bullet wound”. He said the Coalition’s long-term plan is to “fix up the energy crisis because that’s what’s driven up the cost of … everything across the economy.”
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Anthony Albanese makes opening remarks
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was second to make his opening statement. He said that Australians have a “real choice this Saturday” to “continue building Australia’s future, or go back to the past”.
Labor has a real plan for cost-of-living support today, while building with investment for tomorrow. Tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, strengthening Medicare … Making more things here in Australia, 20% cut in student debt, and a 5% deposit for first home owners.
We know that we live in very uncertain times and that’s why we need certainty, and during this campaign, we have put forward clear, decisive policies.
The PM argued that the opposition have “chopped and changed” throughout the campaign.
Australians deserve certainty. What we will deliver is just that.
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Peter Dutton makes opening remarks
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is making his opening remarks, saying this election is “all about who can best manage the Australian economy”.
If we can manage the economy well, it means we can bring inflation down, we can help families with the cost-of-living crisis that this government’s created … There are very few, if any, Australians I have met over the course of the last three years who can say they are better off under this prime minister’s watch.
Dutton said he “believe[s] very strongly that at this election, Australians will vote for change”.
There is a better way to manage our economy and to manage our national security, and that’s exactly what I have on offer at this election.
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The debate begins
The final leaders’ debate of the election campaign has now kicked off at Seven’s studios in Sydney.
Host Natalie Barr has just outlined the rules of the debate (as we outlined earlier).
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are standing at opposite podiums, with moderator Mark Riley in the middle.
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What you missed from the previous leaders’ debates
There have already been three leaders’ debates in this federal election season, hosted by Sky News, ABC and Nine respectively.
The first leaders’ debate between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton was held on 8 April, with a treasurers’ debate between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor and an energy debate between Chris Bowen and Ted O’Brien that same week.
Neither Albanese nor Dutton made a major misstep in the Sky News forum held in western Sydney, where Albanese was voted the winner from a poll of 100 undecided voters – with 44 votes to Dutton’s 35 (21 were undecided).
The second debate, on the ABC, was held on 16 April, with the opposition leader responding, when asked if climate change fallout was getting worse, that he would “let scientists pass that judgment”. Dutton later clarified that he believed in climate change. Albanese denied claims his government had modelled the impact of any change to negative gearing, before later clarifying that the modelling did exist and that it wasn’t commissioned by his team. No winner was announced.
The third debate was held by Channel 9 on 22 April, with the most animated jousting coming when both leaders were invited to rebuff the “biggest lie” their opponent had pushed during the campaign. Dutton accused Albanese of mounting a scare campaign over Medicare funding, while the prime minister accused him in return of “desperation”. The three Nine Entertainment journalists who questioned the leaders declared Dutton to have won “by a nose” (2-1).
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Who is moderating tonight’s debate and what are the rules?
Tonight’s debate will be hosted by Sunrise’s Natalie Barr and moderated by 7News political editor Mark Riley. Here are the ground rules for the showdown:
The debate will run for one hour.
Both leaders will have one uninterrupted minute to make their opening and closing statements.
A 30-second countdown timer will be on-screen to keep everything on track but microphones will stay on with no interruptions.
The debate will centre on six key questions for each leader before going into a “rapid-fire” round where Albanese and Dutton will give quick yes/no or short answers.
Viewer-submitted questions will also be included, gathered from both the broadcast and 7News’ online audiences.
Each leader will have one minute to respond to each of the first six questions, with the order of responses rotating to ensure fairness.
Albanese and Dutton will then face off for four minutes and will be able to directly ask each other questions – all moderated by Riley.
The leaders will then close the debate with a one-minute final pitch to voters.
No winner will be declared as part of the debate broadcast, however a show afterwards – The Verdict – will decide a winner based on a studio audience of 60 undecided voters. They have been independently selected by Roy Morgan.
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Welcome to the final leaders' debate
Good evening, and welcome to the final leaders’ debate of the federal election campaign, with less than a week to go until polling day. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through all of the action tonight.
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will go head-to-head in one more televised debate on 7News, kicking off just after 8pm AEST tonight.
The showdown will be broadcast on Seven’s free-to-air channel as well as on catch-up service 7plus. Viewers can also stream it on 7NEWS.com.au. We will also be bringing you all the highlights from the debate right here on our live blog.
The debate will be moderated by 7News’ political editor, Mark Riley, and hosted at Seven’s studios in Sydney.
There will be no winner declared as part of the debate broadcast – instead, a studio audience of 60 undecided voters will give their verdicts post-debate. We’ll have more details on how the debate will play out shortly.
